A Little Misunderstanding
by Jins Lil Whirlwind
Summary: Jin overhears a conversation between Botan and Yukina and now the YYH gang is in for a round of hesaidshesaid Spring Fever... Chappie 5 up. Jin and Touya, old school playas? Who Knew? CHAPTER 12! The movie!
1. Girl Talk

**This is set after the first Demon World Tournament and right before the second. The six demon fighters, Chu, Rinku, Jin, Touya, Suzuka and Shishi have returned to Living World to train under Master Genkai once more.**

**For anyone who likes my stories enough to read 'em all, this is #3 on my timeline. My stories are meant to be read as stand-alone or together, though they compliment each other when read together.**

**Either way, I own nothing. Enjoy!**

**PS: Please review! The feedback is the main reason I write :-) **

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Jin was taking a stroll through the area around Master Genkai's temple. It was peaceful, and relaxing. He hated to be cooped up in that cave all the time. Genkai had placed strings of seals all along the outside of the cave, and the mountain area surrounding it, so that their demon energy couldn't be sensed by Spirit World officials. She had strictly forbidden them to leave the safety of their confines, since their energy levels were now considered a threat to the Human World. But, since when had Jin ever listened to what his superiors had told him? He had learned to push his power levels down years ago as a ninja. He could walk right up to the gates of Spirit World undetected if he so desired. A little walk wouldn't hurt anything. He'd spent his entire life in darkness, and only recently discovered the joys of the "big bright and open," he had no desire to let them go again, even if it _was_ just temporarily. 

He puckered his lips to whistle to himself as he walked, something he'd done ever since he could remember. He hated quiet, and that's exactly what this night was. He never got to the part of making noise himself. Something, or someone, beat him to it.

Voices could be heard through the bushes. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but they sounded female. _'Not the Master, she's sleepin' like a newborn babe after the headache Shishi and Rinku gave'er.' _The curiosity grew, and he couldn't help but sneak over for closer inspection.

"He's adooooorable!"

"He is rather cute, isn't he?"

He saw two girls standing about 15 yards from the edge of the forest surrounding Genkai's compound. '_Who's adorable?_' he wondered, recognizing Botan and Yukina's backs.

"His red hair is just so... so... CUTE!"

"Yes, it is, but I think I like the blue haired one better."

_'We gotta be holdin' on a minute here, so I say! Red hair? Thought Yukina was Kuwabara's girl, why is Botan swoonin' over 'im? And blue hair? Why does the ice girl like the one with blue hair? Lessee, Shishi has blue hair...' _As the confusion built in his brain, he started floating as he thought, forgetting all about the fact that he was supposed to keep his energy down so as not to be caught.

"And look how small he is. He's tiny, just like me!" he heard Yukina say between giggles.

Gulp _'and so does TOUYA! The ice-girl's got a crush on ole frosty, she does! Kuwabara's not gonna like dis. But wait, the ferry-girl likes Kuwabara. What're these lassies up to? Tradin' off men-folk? WAIT! Kurama has red hair, too! Wonder if it's him the Spirit World lass fancies...'_

"But it's not just the red hair that makes him so cute. His horn is just the most the perfect lil' thing I've ever seen! I could love on him all night!"

_'Say WHAT? HORN! She's yappin' bout your's truly! Wait a minute, ALL NIGHT? Heeeey, this might not be so bad a deal, maybe I oughta be talkin' to-'_

"Didn't I tell you to stay in the cave? DIIIIIIMWIIIIIIIITTTT!" BAM

Jin's blood ran cold at the first sound of Genkai's voice, of course, he didn't have time to be concerned with that, since he went _out _cold next. One hard fist to the top the head was the last thing he knew about. He tumbled through the bushes, landing a few feet from Yukina and Botan who looked very surprised, to say the least.

"What happened?" Botan exclaimed, seeing an unconscious Jin laying on the ground.

"Stray dimwit."

"Oh...," Yukina and Botan said in unison, both sweat dropping.

"What are you two doing out here alone? That forest is filled with demons that could easily rip you apart. Botan, I'd expect you to know that, you were here when Yusuke and Kuwabara entered my tournament," the old master scolded.

"Yes Genkai, I'm sorry."

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

Genkai rolled her eyes. "What are you doing out here!"

"Oh! Well we were walking back to the temple to get something to eat, you know how we love those little brownies with rainbow sprinkles on them. Of course, I like the ones with the sprinkles in the shapes of the little hearts, too, but they're better on Valentine's Day, or at least, unless you use them fo-"

"BOTAN! Forget the brownies! On the way you...?"

"Oh, yes! We heard some squeaking in the grass. I thought it might have been a squirrel, or a tiny bird maybe, Yukina and I both love birds. They're so ador-"

"Botan!"

"Yes, we found these little guys all alone," she said, holding up a tiny demon that resembled a hamster, only it had bright red fur, and a tiny, sparkling horn. Yukina extended her hands to reveal another demon, obviously of the same litter, given their size and appearance side by side. This one had a small lump on top of it's head, the start of a horn Genkai guessed, and bright blue fur.

"Those two must've wandered away from the rest of their litter. A lot of that's going around..." she stated, looking down toward her now snoring pupil. "I'll take them back to their mother as soon as I drag the dimwit back to the Cuckoo's Nest."

"Can we play with them until then?"

"Yes, Botan," the old lady sighed, not feeling like the pouty lip tonight. "But don't get too attached, they're going home as soon as I get back."

"Oh Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" And with that, they started their separate ways, no one but Jin knowing what he had overheard earlier, or what he thought about it...

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**Chappie 2 comin' soon and it will be funnier! Just layin' out the general plot in this one. Tell me whatcha think so far!**


	2. Hook, Line & Sinker

**Now, it gets more interesting... MUHUHUHAHAHA 'cough cough' i mean, uh, tee-hee...**

**PS-Own nothing.

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"Uuuugh"

"Hey, I think he's still alive!" said a child's voice.

"Not when I get through with him...," a samurai spoke up.

"Just a bit of cabin fever, mates. Can't say I blame 'im."

"I can! If Spirit World caught us here...! It would _not_ be a beautiful sight!"

"I'll handle this."

All heads turned to the life long partner of the now waking warrior. Touya slowly walked to Jin's side, awaiting the moment that his friend would become fully alert to his surroundings.

Jin had been placed on a long, flat rock. It served as a makeshift bed for the elf-like demon until the senses that Master Genkai had knocked out of him could return. It was about 7 feet in overall length, maybe 3 feet wide, give or take, and cropped out from the side of the cave at waist level to Touya. Jin had not been placed here, by the "wall," as a matter of coincidence. When he woke up, there would be nowhere to run. His comrades had a few bones to pick with him.

"Oooooh... me head...," Jin groaned, as he moved one hand to the source of the pain. "OW!" fresh pangs of agony shot through his skull as his hand reached a tiny lump right behind his horn. "Aye! A good'n that was! Be feelin' this for a while! The hell happ'nd?"

"I'll tell you what happened! Your attitude nearly got us shipped back to Demon World!"

'_Oh no... 'e don' sound a bit happy...,' _Jin thought as he dragged himself into an upright position. He'd heard Touya mad enough times in his life to know that that's exactly what this tone of voice entailed. He was still a little groggy from his "nap," but he knew how much it took to anger the cold demon. More than that, he knew what happened when he _was_ angry. Jin mentally braced himself to add another pump knot to his newly forming collection...

Jin's head was still spinning, probably from sitting up too fast, but he wasn't really sure. Touya wasn't helping his headache one bit either. He was going on and on about "what could've happened" and "what if someone besides Genkai found you?" Jin was tuning him out, something he'd had much practice with over the years. He knew Touya's facial expressions well enough to know when a nod or remorseful look was required. A couple of times it crossed his mind to retaliate, but the other four demons were standing right behind Touya, ready to get their shots in if it didn't look like Touya's lecture was going to be sufficient. This would go by much faster if he let them think they'd won. He nodded and tried to look sorry while the events that transpired before Genkai whammed him slowly started to come back to him.

Nearly two full hours later, it seemed as if Touya was through scolding him, but he was still fuming. Jin had earned his fair share of reprimands in his day, make no mistake about that, still, he couldn't stand his best friend holding a grudge against him. '_Now, how do I be goin' about gettin' ol' Frosty back in good spirits?' _ he pondered. Touya had sat down on the other side of the cave and was now reading a book, displaying a rather threatening look on his face. The others had all gone off elsewhere, too, going about their own business, all seemingly ignoring Jin. '_I know how to get him talkin' 'gain!' _His ears perked up and began to wiggle slightly. He grinned wide and began to giggle to himself, quickly catching the attention of the rest in the "room."

"What's so funny?" the ice apparition inquired, raising his eyes from his book. He had no idea what Jin could be laughing at, given the circumstances, but, then again, he never had any idea what was on Jin's mind.

"Oh, nothin' ye'd be wantin' to know about..."

"Really?" _'He does this every time! He thinks my curiosity will get the better of me, that he can reel me in and make me forget why I was angry. Not this time! I'll just act as if I don't care, he'll tell me eventually. He never could keep a secret...' _"Well then, if it's nothing you want to share with the rest of the group, please hold your voice down. I'm almost to the climax of the story." he stated without emotion, returning his icy blue eyes to the pages before him, appearing to not give Jin's amusement a second thought.

'_Oh, wants ta play hardball, he does! Alrighty boyo! I can do that too!' _Jin leaned back against the wall, lacing his fingers together behind his still throbbing head to be used for a pillow. He then started whistling. Touya knew this tune, "I Know Something You Don't Know Doo-Da, Doo-Da" He clenched his teeth and gripped his book tightly, color draining from his knuckles. 5 minutes, then 10, _'I'm not going to ask him!'_ 15 _'Dammit Jin! I WILL NOT!' _19...

"ARRRRG! Spit it out already if it'll get you to stop making that infernal noise!"

"Oh, it's nuttin'..."

Touya's left eye began to twitch '_Maybe if I kill him while we're sparring I can say it was an accident...'_

"Just a lass who's taken a likin' to ye..." He snuck a glance at Touya through the corner of his eye. The ice master's mask of anger had been replaced with one of shock. Oh how Jin loved this! _'Hook, line an' sinker...' _

"A las-, girl?" '_Dammit! He got me!' _Touya did his best to regain his poker face, hoping against hope that Jin hadn't witnessed him lose it, yet, knowing he had. Intense ear-wiggling told him that. There probably was no girl, just a ploy, and he had taken the bait.

Ahem "Like who?" in his normal, flat, disinterested voice.

"Oh, it's not import'nt. You wouldn't be carin' if the ice maiden was crushin' on ye."

"The ice maiden!" There goes the poker face again...

"Yup..."

"What did she say?" _'Dammit Touya! You're walking right into this!'_

"Not much, just jabberin' away to the ferry-girl bout how she liked ye and how cute ye are...," still looking at Touya by way of peripheral vision.

_'He's making all this up to get a good laugh at me, just like the time back when we were teenagers, he told me Ruka and her friends were having a party and wanted me to come. Half true, they were having a _slumber_ party and they weren't exactly expecting any gentleman callers...' _The left eye twitching resumed with this memory. He'd had enough of this game for the night.

"Nice try, Jin. I'm not buying it this time." He stood up, marked the page ofhis book and started to walk away. "I'm going to get some sleep. Good one though, you almost had me fooled."

"Wait! It's all true I say!"

"Whatever..."

"Heard every word straight from the mare's mouth!"

"And I suppose they told you all this themselves? Tell me, did they invite you for manicures and shopping after their next girl-talk session, as well?" The memory of that slumber party flashed in his head again.

"Well...," twiddling thumbs and staring at the ground "They didn't, whatcha say, tell _me_ exactly..."

"Oh...?"

Jin spilled the whole story, how he snuck out and ran across the two girls chatting about them, how he'd eavesdropped on their "girl-talk" and finally, how Master Genkai had "got" him before he could do anything about it.

The crew had listened intently to every word, watching Touya's face closely, searching for things to tease him about later and poked some fun at Jin for blushing now. Hundreds of years old and they were all behaving like school children Touya had thought. He shrugged it all off, acting as if none of this concerned him. He scolded Jin for listening in to others' private conversations, then went to bed, still pretending he wasn't fazed.

Key word: _Pretending.

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**OK, so this one's not that funny, still setting it up, I'll get around to humor eventually, I PROMISE! I blame my lack of sugar intake today, I'll get a few Kit-Kats next time and bring the crew together with their new, awkward feelings toward each other. Let the games begin! Till then though, tell me whatcha think!**

**By the way, as for Botan's extreme perkiness in Chap. 1, she had already hit the brownies, hard, and was headed back for seconds, I chopped that out cuz I tend to be long winded and have to cut things so I don't have 20 page chapters, but her sugar rush will come back into play later...**


	3. Rise'n'Shine

**Note: I make a lot of references to "Human World" things in this chappie (and probably future stories as well). Keep in mind that the Dark Tournament was organized by human billionaires. These humans looked at the demons there as trash, nothing but entertainment. Chances are, since these humans were considered the important ones, they called the shots and the hotel, and everything else for that matter, was probably slanted more toward their tastes than the demons'. This means that magazines in the lobby, cable in the rooms, ect. were probably human oriented, and the demons just got to deal with it. Also, they were in Human World at the time, there's no mention about how much time they spent there before or after the tournament. In short: They know enough about Human World to know what these things are...**

**Since site won't display equals signs, -- means equals.**

**PS-Own Nothing**

**Now Enjoy!**

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Touya couldn't sleep. 

There were ungodly sounds coming from his 5 roommates. More than once, he'd found himself thinking that it was a good thing that they were in a cave. These walls, made of stone, were strong, durable. If the 6 of them had been crammed together in a room made of wood, the snoring would surely rattle the nails out of the studs by midnight, tops. There were other sounds in the darkness. Rinku was kicking in his sleep, hitting the wooden sideboard on the top bunk of the bunk bed he and Chu shared. Chu, who had a habit of drooling in his sleep, kept flipping the pillow to the dry side. Shishi was apparently surrounded by groupies in his distant corner of La-La Land. He kept asking "Who do I make this out to?" and the words "room" and "key" had been used in conjunction at least 7 times. Suzuka kept calling for "Charlotte", seeming to take a more modest approach to dream-girls than Shishi.

_'Suzuka? Modest? Same sentence? That's it! I have _got _to get some sleep!'_

With that, he rolled over, pulling the pillow over his head. He tried to convince himself that it was just the racket created by his friends that had kept him up this long, yet he knew that wasn't the case. Every time he started to doze off, that conversation came back to him. Finally, after nearly suffocating himself with the pillow and Rinku's 4th victory over the sideboard in a game of Mortal Kombat, he drifted off into a peaceful state of rest at about 4 AM. At 5 AM...

"Get up! What're you lumps waitin' for! We got us a big day o' trainin' ahead! GET UP!"

Amongst the various moans and groans a loud BANG sounded as Shishi darted up in the unfamiliar bunk bed and his head connected with the bottom of Suzuka's.

"GOD!" he half-yelled, grabbing his forehead and rubbing it. Through gritted teeth he asked "Who gave that Miracle-Gro chugging leprechaun Frosted Flakes again!"

"He's going to _be _a frosted, flake if that clock doesn't say at least 7...," Touya responded, in the same teeth-gritted fashion as the question had been asked. He still hadn't opened his eyes and he had no intention on doing so for any reason other than his sheets catching fire.

"Top o' the morn'n to ye boys! Now get some bounce in yer step! We gotta get started trainin'!" He was grinning and giggling already. This was going to be a loooong day...

"Jin," Rinku started, pulling the covers from over his face, "your nose better be a snooze button..."

"Why ye say that?"

"Because I'm about to punch it!"

"Aw, c'mon! It's not that bad! What's wrong with an early start once and again?"

"Should I start at the top of the list, or do you prefer I finish sometime today?" grumbled the blond in the bed above Shishi.

"Why do you wanna start training at 5 o'clock anyway?" whined a tired little boy.

"5! Jin when I get out of this bed, take my advice, _run...,_" Touya growled.

"What? You're always tellin' me I should roll outta bed earlier! Well here I stand, ready to go and you're still lazin' around."

"You kept us all up past 1 in the morning! No one's _lazing_ around, we're still trying to enjoy our dreams of choking the life out of an annoying, overgrown lepre-"

"Doooon't you go sayin' it Shishi!"

"CHAUN!"

"That's IT!"

Touya rolled over to his right side, facing away from Shishi and Suzuka's bunk bed, where Jin and Shishi were now having a small wrestling match. He heard Shishi let out a small "Oof" noise as Jin had dived in yelling "I'll KNOCK YOU FLAT!" He slid his arm under his pillow and nestled his head back into it's soft embrace. He was happy Shishi had taken that cheap shot. It had taken Jin's focus off of him and now, he could catch a few more minutes sleep. As conciousness slipped away from him he heard a few various shouts from Jin, something about not liking to be called that, and then there were comments from Shishi, something about banshees, rainbows and pots'o'gold. The fight raged on, no one noticing him, thank Yama. Right before he went entirely oblivious to his surroundings, "YEAH? Well I'm not the one who was assaulted by a small, furry woodland creature!" Shishi semi-shouted. "WHY YOU!" CRASH BANG. This put a smile on Touya's face, remembering the incident with the tree a couple months ago. **Read Rinku's Day if you don't know what this is about **A few seconds later, he was sound asleep, grin still plastered on his face, arm loosely hugging his pillow as his aqua bangs fell over his face. **Touya fangirls, say it with me: Awwwwww... **

Sometime later...

"Touya...," the bikini clad ice maiden said. She and 4 of her friends had been hand feeding him grapes while he relaxed in nice, fluffy chaise lounge beside the lake. The snowflakes swirled around them and made the frozen lake seem to shimmer, as if God himself had poured glitter down from the Heavens to better the scenery just for him. Not that the scenery needed any work. These ice maidens, aside from being particularly good looking as it was, were all dressed in blue and silver thong bikinis. He could live with that. He leaned back and closed his eyes, as one of them sat down on the edge of the chair and began to give his tired muscles a rub. "Touya...?" she said. "Touya?" "What?" "Touya?" "What is it?" "_Touya!"_ That's when it happened... A familiar voice had trickled into his brain. Touya opened his eyes to see... "NOOOOOO!" 5 bikini clad Jins, one of them sitting uncomfortably close to his leg, fixed to give him a rub...

The master of ice shot up in bed like a bolt of lightning, nearly knocking Jin to the floor. He was breathing rapidly, still half asleep, and had quite possibly developed a complex.

"'Bout time ye got up! I've been tryin' to get ye back in reality for Yama knows how long."

"Man, that must've been some kinda dream, I've never seen an ice apparition shiver before."

"Right ye are, Rinku. Don't think I've ever seen it neither..." Jin had a rather confused look on his face as Touya gave him a death glare. "What'd I do?"

"Alright! We'll train!" Touya exclaimed, seeming to have given in to Jin's pestering. In truth, he wouldn't go back to sleep right now if someone paid him. He was afriad of what would happen if one of those thong backs had gotten lost and Mrs. Jin had to look for it...

"Touya, you don't look so good." Suzuka stated, expressing concern over the excessive shivering his friend was doing. "Maybe you shouldn't train today. Why don't you stay here and get some rest?"

"NO! I mean, um, I'm fine... Jin," changing the subject, "you still haven't told us _why _you want to get such an early start."

"Wantin' to ask Master Genkai if we can try somethin' sorta different this day."

"As in?"

"Well, she's got the same kinda energy blockin' thingys strung all over around her temple, too, right?"

"Yeeeesss?" Touya knew this, he'd seen them when they first arrived to ask Genkai to train them once more.

"Well, if we keep it down, we could train out there. Nothin' flashy, mind ye, but it's better than hangin' around in this dungeon all the day."

'_Temple?'_

Neurons began to fire in Touya's still sleep-clouded brain.

_'Temple? Jin? Jin+Temple--? What's he up t-' _The conversation returned.

_'Temple... Botan at temple, Jin+Temple--Botan, Jin+Botan - Focus-- ... TROUBLE!_

_But wait, Jin - Focus --chance for payback... That works... Wait, Temple--Genkai. Genkai + injured pupil --More trouble... Angry Genkai - use of legs --OW...no, we're not going... WAIT! Botan--Yukina...'_

"Fine, we'll go."

"Really?"

"Yes, as long as you promise never to wake me up before 7 again."

"Deal!... But, just for the sake of wantin' to know, what happens if I do?"

An ice dagger formed around Touya's right hand.

"In 5 words or less, what do the words 'pin' and 'cushion' mean to you?"

"Let. Touya. Get. His. Sleep."

"Thought so."

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**The next chappie is going to be focused on Botan and Yukina, and that sugar rush is going to come back in. And, we're about to drag Kurama into this. Please be patient with me folks, I know I'm dragging this out, just straightening out the details of where I want this first meeting to go. Till then, tell me what you think of the torture, I mean, uh, story so far! **

**BTW: As always, you guys who reviewed, Thankyou so much! If it weren't for you guys, I probably wouldn't have wrote chappie 2. The more reviews, the faster I write hehe hint hint...**


	4. Botan, Brownies and Everclear

**This one is mostly flashback, but there are a few important points in here. Also, what happens when you mix Botan with a truckload of sugar and 190 proof Everclear:)**

**I own nothing.

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Botan rolled over and slapped at her alarm clock. She hoped her spread fingers would catch the "Off" or "Snooze" button, anything to make it shut up. In her attempts, she found two functions, neither of which was what she was looking for. The volume knob was first, turning the mild beep into a blaring siren. Next, the night-light feature, transforming the pink, neon rim around the clock face into a blinding spotlight pointed directly at her own.

Her head hurt. In actuality, it throbbed. With each heartbeat, a new wave of bright pain shot through her skull. It was the kind of headache where one could feel their own pulse in their temples. What had caused this?

_'Shizuru's punch...'_

**The Day Before...**

Kayko had been having the worst luck. Her tension level was at it's peak. Planning a wedding is always a stressful task, but for Kayko, it was turning nightmarish.

First, the printing company that was making the invitations had ran out of the paper she'd picked out. They said they had ordered more, but it was out of stock and they couldn't possibly have it in time to get all the invites mailed. Alright, pick out different paper. A few days later, the invitations were printed, ready to be sent. That's when the call came. The new girl at the shop hadn't been exactly sure which box to put what text in when she tried to print the envelopes. The result? 79 different return addresses, one destination: Kayko's house. The owner apologized, assuring Kayko that he would personally finish all the printing so that her invitations would still be done on time. The next call. The good news? The invitations had turned out perfect and so had the envelopes. The bad news? The little RSVP cards on the inside, (**the ones you mail back to say if you are coming, for those of you who haven't planned any funer- I mean, weddings**) had been switched with another couples' by, you guessed it, the new girl. That was fine, she'd thought, those cards didn't have any names on them, just blanks for the guests to fill out. The only thing that would be different was the picture on the back. "Um, Miss Yukimora, I don't think you quite understand, Hokuto and Chono, they're... uh..." "It doesn't matter, as long as the invitations are in the mail in time for the wedding." "Ma'am, that's _Mr._ Hokuto and _Mr._ Chono. The graphic they chose was of a picture of two grooms..."

Birds flew from the trees 3 blocks away as Kayko "voiced" her frustration.

Then there was the dress, or the fiasco that happened as she tried it on. Kayko was getting her final fitting in the dress the she and her mother had picked out. They had seen it in a magazine and described their own personal touches to the tailor who was sure she could handle it. The tailor had been right. The gown was gorgeous! Kayko's breath had been stolen the first time she'd seen the near finished product, and that day, with the train pinned on the back, it looked like something out of a fairy tale. She was to try the dress on so that the train was sure to be perfectly centered and the tailor could remove some length if necessary. The train was secured to the back of the dress with a few simple stick pins and one safety pin at the top, center, where the bow had been placed. As she walked out of the dressing room, she looked like a princess. Her friends gasped, as did other patrons in the shop. A couple ladies were chatting with each other as their friend was trying on her prom dress right outside the dressing room door. They stepped out of the way as Kayko walked by, complimenting her on her lovely gown. As they stepped back into place, when Kayko was past, no one noticed that one of their heels had landed on the long train. One by one, the pins gave, and slid out, all except that last one: the safety pin. It's hinged, fastened jaws held tight on the back on Kayko's dress, determined not to let go. After a little more tugging, the not-entirely-stitched skirt decided to let go, taking the attached slip with it. Kayko had shrieked when she heard the RIIIIIP sound and the realization hit of what that sound meant. The full back of her skirt was lying on the floor, and worse still, there was her slip lying there in the pile of material! She turned her front side to the onlookers in the store, trying to keep the crowd from seeing her pink, "Wednesday" panties. It wasn't until Botan and Shizuru grabbed her and started to push her back toward the dressing room that she noticed she'd turned her back to a full-length mirror.

There had been problems from day one of the plans for "The Big Day". The chapel her parents had been married in was closed while they installed a new roof, her veil had been attacked by moths, the white, rhinestone covered, high-heels she'd ordered had lost most of their stones during shipping and it was too late to exchange them, and last night, her florist had left town for a family emergency. If things kept up, the girl was going to have to trade that gown and Honeymoon Suite for a straight-jacket and a rubber room.

Times like this were when good friends came in handy. Botan and Shizuru told the rest of the crew how things had been going and they all decided to take action, or, pity, on poor Kayko. They all started to help out, in their own special ways.

Kurama was, by far, the biggest help. Since his mother had her own wedding not too long ago, he asked her to let Kayko borrow a few things. Shiori had a veil that looked stunning on Kayko, and a pair of white, bridal shoes that fit her perfect. She also called the chapel where her ceremony had been performed. They said their schedule was clear and Kayko and Yusuke had the chapel for as long as they wanted that day. Kurama volunteered to solve the florist problem personally under the condition that if Kayko was asked, she had to tell everyone that she'd just found an out of town florist last minute, and couldn't really remember the name. Fine by her, she didn't much want to explain to her parents why that boy carried a rose in his hair, anyway.

Botan and Shizuru had dragged Kayko to a new dress shop on the other side of town. At their grand opening sale, Kayko found a new dress that she loved, for less than half the price she was going to pay for the other one.

Next, the invitations. Kayko and her mother had gone back to the printer to collect a refund, hoping to find another printer in time. The owner agreed to a partial refund, saying that he was out money on the wasted invitations, and he was keeping the amount "owed to him for supplies." He did a little recalculating after a visit from the soon-to-be groom, and his best man, Kuwabara. In fact, he decided that _he_ owed _them_. He gave them a full pack of the paper Kayko had wanted, and blank envelopes to boot.

Kayko's mother had suggested another store that could print up the invitations, but after Kayko's ordeals, she was not going down that road again. The girls talked her into letting them help her hand make them with the paper Yusuke and Kuwabara had "graciously accepted" from the humbled print shop owner instead of buying some plain old batch from the local gift store.

They had planned to meet at Genkai's early that morning. They all gathered up various art supplies and snacks, along with a few other necessities, like makeup, hair rollers, nail polish, magazines... Kayko needed a day to relax with her best pals.

Since all the other girls were bringing their own special touches to this girls' day in, Yukina had settled on providing cookies and brownies for the group. While staying in the Human World, she was learning of human activities, such as shopping, television, sewing, cleaning, and her latest feat, cooking. She had attempted this shortly after arriving in Living World to stay, but the heat from the oven had made her feel faint. Now, after spending all this time here, she had become better acquainted with the human climate, and set her mind to giving it another try.

The 3 varieties of cookies she made turned out great! Chocolate chip, sugar cookies, and shortbread. The latter 2 kinds had been cut into the shape of little hearts and wedding bells, then decorated with colored sugar sprinkles. Text book was the only way to describe her work. Next, she had started to work on the brownies. Not being an experienced grocery shopper, she hadn't known that there was a just-add-water mix. She had grabbed the first one she saw. She tried to follow the directions, but the heat was getting to her. She felt herself getting a little dizzy, the room began to spin. She took a time out and returned to her brownies as soon as she felt able. Vision still slightly impaired, she couldn't quite make out the measurement table on the back of the box, 12 brownies, 24, 36... She squinted and tried hard to read, thinking she had chosen the right amount of sugar to add. She was fixing pans of 12 brownies a piece. Through blurred vision, she added the sugar for the 36 batch...

When the others had arrived, they started to work on the new invites. Yukina, not being sure about how many brownies they might need, had baked nearly 200! Three of the girls dug in to the massive mountain of goodies, while Shizuru went to make the beverages.

In the kitchen...

"This oughta loosen her up...," Shizuru said to no one, pouring nearly a full pint of Everclear into the huge bowl of punch. **For those of you who don't know, Everclear is Pure Grain alcohol. It's 190 proof and could put an alcoholic sailor in a coma if he drank more than a few shots worth, straight. Take my word for it, it's my best friend...**

She took a two cups of punch she'd poured before adding her "special ingredient," and another two cups of the finished product, out to the other girls. She gave Yukina and Botan the befores, and handed one of the afters to Kayko. That girl was way too stressed. Time to unwind...

Somehow, they'd finished the invitations, though most of it was a blur for Shizuru and Kayko. Botan had gulped down that first cup of punch and had went back for seconds before Shizuru had a chance to warn her...then, a third..and a fourth. She'd started back for her fifth, but found she just couldn't quite seem to make it. Not to the kitchen, but to her feet. _'That's the problem with Clear. You can drink all you want sitting down. It's when you stand up that it bites you,' _Shizuru had thought, seeing Botan's failed attempts to rise.

Botan was sugar-high from all the brownies, and that Everclear wasn't helping matters _at_ _all._ Shizuru had been pouring coffee down her, too, correcting _some_ of the alcohol problem, though not doing much to improve the sugar situation. The finished result? Botan's creative side had come out to play.

Seeing all these decorations left over had given her an idea. Why not make cards for all her dearest friends? She started with all the girls, then Genkai. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Koenma. Even Puu and Jorge made the list. She had one last piece of paper, but who else was there? Hiei was off in the Demon World somewhere and she knew she wouldn't see him again for at least a few more months. But who else could she send a card to? All these pretty hearts and ribbons and a ton of other goodies, one more sheet of card paper.

"I know who!"

She started writing on the card, decorating it the same as all the others, with hearts and ribbons. She ran out of pink hearts, so she was stuck using red. She had actually been using the little heart sprinkles as decorations earlier, quite a clever idea, until she'd tried to fit that card into the envelope. There was only a short piece of pink ribbon left, too. She supposed this card would be red, all around. Why not? He has red hair...

She was sending a card to the demon who had saved her a while back. After Yusuke's fight with Yomi, he had been hospitalized for a few days. On her way there one day, she had become lost deep in her thoughts and had nearly been hit, head-on, by some giant form of demon bat. Jin had come to the rescue. He was also on his way to check on Yusuke when he'd spotted that creature heading straight for Botan, who was riding on her oar. She hadn't snapped out of it until she heard the words "Tornado FIST!" She had thanked him then, of course, but why not send him a card, just to show how much she appreciated him?

**Back to this morning...**

Botan had given up on going back to sleep, she'd taken her shower and gotten dressed. Might as well go back to Genkai's and see what she could help Kayko with today, besides her probable hangover... Looking at the clock she saw that it was only 5:11 AM! Oh well. Genkai was always an early bird anyway.

**Meanwhile, at the cave...**

"Wha'd'ye know? A letter for old Jin!" the wind master said to himself, seeing his name in bright red letters on the front of the little envelope he'd found placed outside the door.

"Fancy one it is, too!"

He tore open the envelope and read the "Thinking of You" card enclosed therein. And who might have sent this heart-covered sentiment?

"From... BOTAN!"

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**As always, thanks for the reviews, and thanks for being so patient with me while I keep rambling on.**

**Until the next chappie, please review!**


	5. Tag Team

**Addressing the issue of using dubbed spellings: I know most people here use the JV spellings, to tell the truth, more often than not, so do I. I'm writingall my stories in the EV so thatthey'll be reader-friendly for the people who only got to watch the Cartoon Network versions of the show. If you pay close attention though, you'll find info that came from the JV (as soon as I get the DVDs I watch both versions then head for Yama's notebook.) Example: Chapter 1, the guys worrying about Spirit World catching them. On the JV, Genkai tells Kurama that at this rate, Spirit World will find out about them.**

**If there's ever anything that you're not entirely sure where I got it from, the JV or Shonen Jump is probably where, just in case anyone gets confused. Now, I'll shut up and let you read.**

**I own nothing**

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Kurama's eyes shot open. 

"That smell..."

The aroma that had awakened him most certainly belonged to another demon. Some sort of beast, most likely of the lower class. This creature had most certainly just entered the Living World, since the scent of the Demon World was still pungent enough to wake Kurama from this great a distance.

_'At least 5 miles away. It seems he is traveling rather slow...'_

Kurama made haste to get out of bed and dressed. On his way out the door he left a note for his mother, saying that since this was his day off, he was going to run some errands for Yusuke.

Through the trees he leapt, until he came across the creature that he had sensed. An ugly beast at least 8 feet tall, with two rows of teeth snarled at him.

"So you're the one they call Kurama? Thought the legendary bandit would be taller," the creature laughed.

"Why do you seek me?"

"Sorry, nothin' personal, but there's some folks that don't want you in this tournament. I'm doin 'em a little favor!"

The beast began to run at Kurama, claws spread in front of him, meaning to shred him.

"You shouldn't have come here."

A burst of red petals surrounded the redheaded teen.

"What? Think I'm afraid of a few flowe-" The beast's last words. He ran right into the cloud of sharp petals surrounding Kurama, and was sliced in more places than anyone could have counted. He fell at Kurama's feet.

_'The tournament is still quite some time away, and already they're getting desperate...'_

This fight was over. Might as well go to Genkai's and see how training was going for his six demon friends.

_'Their day should begin shortly. Perhaps I can even get some time to practice my new techniques.'_

Kurama had been working for his stepfather and rarely had time to train as he knew he should these days. He had decided that since today was his day off, he should take full advantage of it.

Upon arriving at Genkai's, he saw that his pals had not only started training early, they were doing so right outside Genkai's temple. Even more surprising, Botan and Yukina were standing beside of Genkai, watching the fighters spar.

"Genkai, I thought they were worried about being caught outside of their own world. Why are they training here, where anyone could find them?"

"They're all wearing Spirit Cuffs, and they promised to hold back as much energy as they could. If I see one of them hamming it up out there, I'm shipping all their asses back to the rock."

"I see."

One of the fighters was certainly hamming it up, though he was being careful not to let his energy get out of control. Jin had been showing off all morning. He'd been doing some of the stupidest moves the rest of the group had ever seen, but so far, he'd landed every attack. Touya had never accused him of being sane, but today he seemed ready for the psych ward. This would have concerned him, but he had his theory about why Jin was in this rare form.

"What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Shishi asked after their bout had finished. Jin had taken all his attacks head on, it looked like he wasn't even _trying_ to dodge. Jin just laughed at these questions. He'd been laughing a lot more than usual today. Besides that, his ears had been wiggling since they'd agreed to come here.

"He has his reasons," Touya answered, casting an all-knowing grin at Jin.

"Whatcha gettin' at?" Jin asked between giggles.

"Puh-lease. If your ears do any more wiggling, you're going to take flight without the use of your wind powers. There's only one thing that you get that excited over."

"Ye got me!" he replied, before bursting into laughter once more.

"Well, someone please inform the rest of us. Why is he fighting completely kamikaze?" Suzuka inquired.

"Cuz the chicks dig it!" They said in unison. This made Jin start laughing hysterically again as Touya rolled his eyes. He'd heard that line enough from Jin. Females were going to be the death of him one day...

The crew turned to look at Botan and Yukina. They'd been outside watching the whole time, and they were looking pretty worried. The boys realized that was exactly what Jin had been aiming for. Touya didn't mind the attention he was getting, but he wasn't about to lose his focus to get it. Business, then pleasure. Work before play. He'd followed these all his life, why stop now?

A couple more hours into training, Touya was winning over Suzuka, or so it seemed. He prepared his signature move, ready to take the victory.

"SHARDS OF WINTER!"

The bullets sprayed at Suzuka. This was it!

"REFLECTION!"

Suzuka revealed one of his thousand tricks, an energy wall that sent attacks flying back at their owner. Touya tried to dodge, missing most of the ice, but one razor sharp piece of ice caught him just below the shoulder, cutting him deeply.

"Oh!" Yukina gasped. The match was officially over. Suzuka had won. Touya surveyed his wound. He was so absorbed with the pain and trying to figure out it's real severity, that he didn't notice Yukina until she touched his other shoulder. She and Botan had come to check on him.

"Oh my!" she she said, seeing the amount of blood flowing down Touya's right arm. "That looks terrible! I'm quite skilled with healing powers. Let me help you." Touya nodded, still keeping his poker face. He couldn't let this girl see how bad he was hurting. As she worked, Touya began to think. That look on her face, how fast she'd rushed to help him. Could Jin be right?

"There. That shoulddo until we can get that properly bandaged."

The bleeding had stopped. Good enough for the ninja. He'd been through worse.

"I'll be fine. I'll tend to it when we've finished training."

"But it looks pretty bad. Maybe you should take a rest and nurse it now. I'd hate to see it worsen."

_'She's really worried. It looks as if Jin actually knew what he was talking about for a change'_ "Trust me, I've had injuries far more severe than this. I'm good to go." The macho act, something most fighters had in common.

"Well... I ... suppose. If you change your mind... or if you need any help... please, tell me." With that, the ice maiden turned and began walking back to the deck built around the temple.

"Ye know, you gotta be the dumbest, smart guy I've ever had the pleasure o' meetin'."

"What?"

Jin rolled his eyes and elbowed Touya.

"MILK it ye moron!"

Touya looked genuinely confused. He'd never in his life admitted to being hurt, let alone tried to "milk it" as Jin had said. For some reason though, he thought that he might just give it a try.

"Yukina!"

"Yes?" she said as she stopped and turned to face her now approaching fellow ice apparition.

"On second thought, I'm going to take you up on that offer."

"You are?" she said as a smile formed.

"Well, um, with the tournament so soon, I can't afford to risk serious injury. I'll need all my strength to perform at my best." _'Yeah, that sounded good. I didn't have to sound weak, yet, I still have her attention. Jin should be taking notes!' _

"Atta boy, Toy!" Jin's ears were still flapping hard enough to nearly lift him off the ground.

"What? You're playing match maker now?" Shishi asked with some amusement.

"No need. Taught 'im everything he knows!" he chuckled.

"I bet!" Rinku remarked.

Jin paid the boy no mind, he was looking elsewhere. Right beside Yukina and Touya, Botan stood hunched over, trying to assist in treating Touya's arm. Just as he was getting ready to make his move, he noticed someone coming up the steps to Genkai's.

Kuwabara!

He was headed straight for Yukina, and he had a rather puzzled look on his face when he saw the guy sitting next to her. A little too close for comfort apparently, because puzzled quickly turned to angry. Jin remembered hearing how jealous Kuwabara was. This wasn't good.

_'Think fast, Jin!'_

Kuwabara was getting closer and closer to Yukina.

"Hey Kuwa!"

The carrot top turned his head to see Jin and the others standing around.

"What?"

"Wantin' a word with ye's all."

"It'll have to wait! I've gotta handle something right now!" he shouted, looking back to Touya.

"It'll only take a second outta yer busy day! You can spare as much, surely!" Jin shouted back, crossing his arms across his chest and looking a little aggravated.

"I told you, I'm in a hurry!"

"Fine. Guess ye don't wanna know when people are sayin' ye fight like a school-girl anyways."

"WHAT? WHO SAID THAT?"

Kuwabara charged over to the group of demons.

"Rinku."

"What? I didn't say -"

"Aw, c'mon kiddo, no time to gettin' all bashful."

"But I di-"

"WHAT? That little brat called me a school girl?"

"I didn-"

"Didn't call ye a school girl," Jin finished for Rinku, "says ye fight like one. Almost sent ye a pot o' _pansies_ after yer match against him."

"Why you little runt! I'd pound you if I had the time!"

"RUNT?" Rinku was mad... "If you had the time? More like if you had the BALLS!"

"WHAT? THAT'S IT SHRIMP! YOU AND ME! RIGHT NOW!"

"FINE!"

Rinku and Kuwabara were still trash talking as Suzuka, Shishi and Chu tried to hold them back. If Rinku took him on right now, they'd definitely be caught, and besides, killing humans was a quick way to earn a criminal record. They didn't much care what happened to the human, but they kind of liked having Rinku around. He was easy to blame when something got broke.

_'That'll keep Romeo tied up for a while. Won't be holdin' the lil lad back long, though... Hope that human's been hittin' the gym half as much as the tyke. Now, on to next job.'_

Botan was still standing next to the two ice demons, who were looking a little curious about all the commotion. At least, Botan and Yukina were looking curious. Touya looked as if he might know what events had transpired. He reverted his full attention to Yukina.

_'Oh, wantin' to forget about yer ole buddy Jin 'ey?'_

Jin floated up to the edge of the steps, about 15 feet from where the 3 were sitting.

AHEM

Touya looked up to see Jin, arms folded, floating not too far away.Jin glanced at Botan, then back to him. Touya knew this signal. Time to repay a favor...

Jin saw Touya start talking to Botan. He couldn't hear what was being said, not over all the racket Rinku and Kuwabara were making, but he had a pretty good idea.

_'Been many-a-moon since we played the ol' tag team on the lassies, it has.'_

Touya looked up at Botan, who was still engulfed in the small riot about 30 yards away.

_'Let's see. How do I get them alone? Got it!'_

"It's a shame Jin hasn't been feeling better."

"Hmm?" Botan asked, coming back to reality.

"Oh, is he ill?" inquired the warm-hearted ice maiden, still tending to his arm.

"No, at least, not physically." He tried to look as sad as he could. They were both hooked, time to reel them in. "Jin's been depressed since we arrived. You see, Jin is the wind master, and just like the wind, he needs to be free. When he is flying, he feels free. To him, there is no greater joy, but here, he hasn't been able to for fear of being spotted by humans. He's felt as if he were trapped in a cage. The cave has been a prison to him. I feel his very soul is wounded. He's been like a brother to me since we were children. It truly pains me to see him this way." _'That should work...'_

"Oh, that's so sad. I never realized that flying meant so much to him," Botan replied, casting pitiful eyes at poor Jin. Jin was trying hard not to sneak a glance right now, knowing she might catch him.

"Yes, it's a shame that he can't fly here. We know that here, in these mountains, there must be at least a few places he could, but, he is unable to find them without risking our safety. If only there was someone else around who'd flown in this area before..."

"There is!" Botan began to giggle.

_'Remember to look surprised by that answer...' _"Really?"

"I fly here on my oar all the time! I could show him the exact route!" She continued her smiling and giggling, Touya continued his act...

"Oh, you could? He would be thrilled! Thank you. I'm sure nothing would make him happier." _'There you go, Jin. Served on a silver platter.'_

_'Uh-oh. This does not look good. These girls don't see what's happening here. I think I do...,' _Kurama thought to himself. Botan and Yukina had no idea what they were getting into.

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**Next chapter: Yukina is naive, Touya is smooth. This should be interesting. Then there's Jin and Botan getting their "alone time", plus, that sly old fox has figured this out. We're starting to get to thegood part! (Varied moans, groans and ABOUT DAMN TIMEs from the crowd.)**

**Alright folks, as always, whatcha think so far? Oh no! I said whatcha... I'm learning JIN-SPEAK!**


	6. The Fox's Flowers

**This was done in a hurry, hope it's not too stupid. Own nothing!**

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At last, Kurama was finished. He took a few steps back to admire the beauty he had spent the last couple of hours creating. 

**Meanwhile...**

Jin was still rehearsing lines in his head.

_'Say, Botan...no. I was wond'rin. No... Hey baby- Hell no...'_ The last hour had been nearly silent as he and Botan toured the skies above the forest, with the exception of Botan's occasional "Isn't that lovely?" as they passed over some nice scenery.

Jin's ears stood on end.

_'I GOT IT!' _

"Say, this oar the only way ye ever flown?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"You'll be havin' lots more fun if you try goin' at the skies solo."

"Oh? Well I can't control wind, how could I fly without my oar?" A puzzled look graced her face.

"Like this."

Jin took Botan's hand and gave her a light tug, just enough to pull her off the oar. She let out a light squeal and shut her eyes tight, afraid the next thing she saw would be the ground coming up fast. To her surprise, it didn't feel like she was falling that fast, in fact, she wasn't falling at all. She felt herself being pulled forward. '_Now how do you fall straight ahead in mid-air?'_ Now she was really puzzled.

"Ye can open yer eyes any time now lass."

Botan didn't want to, but, she did.

"What? We're still in the air!"

"Course we are"

"But how? I can't fly!"

"Ye can as long as I got ye. What? Think I'd be lettin' a pretty lassie go fallin'?"

"Weeellllll..."

"Ye might _look _like an angel, but I won't be droppin' ye from the heavens." Jin started to laugh a little, as did Botan. This really was fun! So fun, that those compliments didn't fully register...

Jin surveyed Botan's reaction to his flirting. She didn't seem to be offended. Time to make his move...

The music began to play... Jin began to sing...

"I can show you the woooooorld

Take you wonder by wooooonder"

**SYKE! NOT HAPPENIN' HERE FOLKS!**

**Buzzzzzzzzz**

**What the? Green bug? And it's dropping yellow glitter on my keyboard!**

**SPLAT**

**Peter: Tiiiiiink? Tinkerbeeeeellllll? Where are you?**

**Oops... Back to the story...**

Time to make his move...

"Oh! Jin! Look down there. Kurama must have finished his sample of flowers for Kayko! It looks just lovely! Let's go down and take a peek!"

Botan reached for the oar Jin had been holding in his left hand since he'd "removed" her from it. He returned it to her and as she was settling back onto it, he figured it was now or never...

"Botan, I-"

An unruly gust of wind drowned out the sound of his voice. Botan sped away, going down to the display Kurama had made, never knowing Jin had been about to ask her for a real date.

"OH! Ye pick _NOW_ to sass me!" the wind master snapped.

The violent wind slowed to a gentle breeze and playfully whipped at his hair.

"No ye don't! I'll not be lettin' ye off _THAT _easy!"

The breeze slowed down even more, barely noticeable. Jin kept his arms folded across his chest and a very stern look on his face, the kind a parent might have after scolding a child. The breeze turned and started heading away from him, slowly, resembling the scolded child who had tried to use cuteness to save them from the punishment... and failed.

Jin began tapping his foot impatiently in the air, looking away from the direction the breeze was now headed, until...

"Oh alright! But DON'T be pullin' stunts like that anymore!"

The breeze turned and wrapped all around him, almost as strong as it had been when it had muffled his advances toward Botan.

"Well, guess I oughta be headin' down. Hafta catch lassie off to herself later..."

With that, he descended to the spot where Kurama had created a mini-garden, to join Botan.

**Meanwhile, at yet _another_ part of the compound...**

_'How should I go about this? She is so innocent, anything too direct would frighten her...'_

Yukina had finished treating Touya's arm. The deep cut was now no more than a long scratch. They'd been chatting since Botan left, nothing serious, just mainly talking about how different things were outside of the snow-covered places they were used to. They had things in common, that was a start. Kurama had told them he was going to make a display of flowers for Kayko to look at, to choose which she wanted him to decorate with at the wedding. He had asked them to go with him, but Touya had said maybe after Yukina was finished. When he had left, Touya had started testing the waters. He wanted to know Yukina a little better before he started making moves, so as to be sure he wouldn't make the wrong ones.

Touya was still clueless. Anything he said might scare this girl! That's when they heard Kurama calling them.

"Oh! Kurama, They're absolutely beautiful!" Yukina gasped when they reached the fox and his million flowers. "Touya, don't you think so, too?"

"Yes. Truly impressive, Kurama." He was impressed, of course, he would've said so anyway, considering who was asking...

"Thank you," Kurama replied. Yukina had begun to walk around the display, looking at all the different varieties of blooms. Botan and Jin were there as well, looking at the other side. As they began talking to each other, Kurama joined Touya just out of their earshot.

"So, see anything you're fond of?"

"They all look nice, but I'm afraid that flowers are not my strong suit. An ice apparition wouldn't be the best person to judge creations that are only found in the warmer parts of the world."

"True, but I wasn't referring to the foliage."

Touya looked at Kurama, not knowing what he _was_ referring to. He saw the fox shoot a glance toward Yukina, then he looked back to him, casting that all-knowing grin. The same one Touya had given Jin earlier.

"Oh." Touya grinned. "Ever watchful, as always."

"So my assumptions were correct."

"You're Kuwabara's friend. You aren't going to hold this against me are you?"

"A woman's heart is her own to give. The choice belongs to Yukina alone. It is hardly my place to get involved. I was only curious."

"For the record, I'm not a fan of 'home-wrecking.' I asked her a little while ago if she and Kuwabara were a couple. Her reply was no."

"Then, she's aware of your intentions?"

"Not yet. I brought it up in casual conversation."

_'Mistake number one.' _"Kuwabara never officially asked Yukina to be his steady girlfriend. He assum-"

"Oh, boys! Talking about us?" Kurama was cut short by Botan before he could warn Touya about Yukina's naivety.

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**To all the Disney fans: I apoligize, but I've been forced to watch Aladdin 23 times this week, the last few days to tell the truth. I love Disney, but, FRUSTRATIONS MUST BE VENTED!**

**Preview of next chappie: It's Botan's turn to play match maker-Double date! Yukina and Touya with Botan and ?**

**Can't give everything away, now can I?**

**Till then, tell me whatcha think so far!**

**PS-KittySand Katie- No need to apoligize about the dub thing. I needed to put that up anyway, I just forgot about it when I was making notes before, I'm sure you're not the first person who's wondered about that. Besides, that's what the review section is there for.**

**As far as the part about where I got my info, that had nothing to do with you, that was just one more thing I forgot to put in notes earlier, just threw it in while I was thinking about it. Hope you aren't mad at me.**


	7. Double date!

**Okay folks, I know this one has been a while. I've had drama to the 10th power going on all over the place so I haven't had time to get on and write anything. Didn't really have time to write this one, but I rushed another chapter out anyway. If it isn't all that good, like I said, RUSHED, so you know why. Please be gentle with the reviews lol, and I hope it won't take as long to get the next chappie out. **

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"Well?" Botan asked. 

"We were just chatting. What would make you think that we would be discussing you girls?"

"Well, Touya, _you're_ no _fun!_" Botan chirped as she headed back to the flowers. "Kurama, I just love these! They're the most beautiful roses I've ever seen!"

"A rare breed from the Demon World. In my haste to get the job done, I mistook the seed for another variety."

"The Demon World? Well I guess that explains why I've never seen them before."

"So, how did things go?" Touya asked Jin, who had now wandered his direction.

"Be tryin' harder next go 'round," he replied, watching Kurama and Botan, who were still engaged in their conversation about the beauty of those roses.

"I'll take that to mean 'not so good.'"

"Quick as a whip, ye are."

"You don't have to take it out on me. I practically gift-wrapped her for you."

"Jus' not in me best spirits. So what about you and the ice-lassie?"

"Well, let's just say you're not the only one having difficulties."

"Been a while since we both went strikin' out in the same day... How long _has_ it been?"

"I don't think we ever have..."

"Oh well, we ain't getting any closer to 'em standin' around here gabbin', now are we?"

Touya recognized Jin's "no guts, no glory" grin as he started to walk forward. This was sure to be a good show, as long as Jin didn't drag him into it. He already had the feeling that Jin was planning to do just that.

"Looks good, Kurama."

"Thank you, Jin."

"Flowers, weddin's, and then there's all the crushes goin' on 'round here. Everybody's been bit by the love bug here lately..." Jin shot a glance at Botan through the corner of his eye.

Kurama was pulled into conversation with Yukina, who was unfamiliar with all of these flowers, and apparently, very curious about what breeds were what, and if Kurama thought she could raise some of them herself outside the temple. Touya had joined them as well, leaving Jin and Botan off in their own little world.

The word "crush" always had a way of grabbing Botan's attention. Gossip? Gossip she hadn't heard? That just couldn't be! She _had_ to hear this!

"Crushes?" she asked.

"Yup."

"Welllll?" She began to tap her foot impatiently.

"Aw c'mon. Don't tell me ye haven't noticed!"

Botan placed a finger to her lips as she thought hard, trying to figure out what Jin was talking about. Just then, a bit of laughter caught her attention. Touya and Yukina were laughing about something Kurama had said... Wait a minute! Weren't they standing a little too close together?

"Touya? And Yukina?"

"Bingo, lassie! Ye figgered one of 'em out," Jin laughed.

"One of them? So there's another big secret around here?" Botan started to frown. How had she missed so much dirt?

"I reckon there's a fella who's takin' a likin' to a certain lassie that hails from Spirit World, too."

After a second of thinking, Botan's hungover brain caught what Jin was saying.

"Someone has a crush.. on... _me_?"

"Righto."

"Then why hasn't anyone said anything?" Botan managed, still slightly in shock.

"Shy one he is, when it comes to dealins with the ladies."

"Oh? Like who?"

Kurama looked at his watch. Kayko should be arriving to see her flowers any time now. He figured he should remove the demon world flowers he'd placed there by mistake.

"Well, who has a crush on me? Is it someone I know? Or a secret admirer?" she giggled.

"Ye know the fella."

"Is he here at the compound today?" Botan tried to fight back her curiosity, though it was killing her.

"He's here alright. Pretty close to ye right now, he is."

"Oh?"

Jin could tell Botan was completely hooked. She HAD to know. No turning back now. Might as well lay it out there.

"He's a tall fella, with long, red hair..."

Botan's eyes widened, was he talking about...?

"Here Botan, I thought you might like these," Kurama said, handing Botan the Demon World roses that she'd been so fond of. He couldn't use them in the wedding, and it seemed like a shame to let such beauty go without some appreciation.

A bolt of lightning shot in Botan's head. Tall? Long, red hair? She wasn't an expert at romance, but this guy fit the description, and he was giving her roses. Besides, if Jin had been the one with the crush, he would've just came out and said so, right?

Ideas were forming in Botan's brain. Touya likes Yukina... Kurama likes her... DOUBLE DATE! It was perfect! Why hadn't she thought of it sooner? Oh Yeah! Because she had just found out that Kurama liked her a few minutes ago.

Botan walked over to where Yukina and Touya were standing.

"You know, you two would make the cutest couple!"

"Couple?" they said in unison, Yukina sounding a little more surprised than Touya. _' I take that to mean Jin's been working overtime today...'_

"Well you two just look so adorable together. Why don't we all go out?"

"Go out?" Yukina looked very confused.

"Oh, you know! A date!"

"But I've never been on a date before. I don't think-"

"Yukina! You've never been on a date? Even more reason to go! You don't know what you're missing!"

"But I've nev-"

"Oh, don't worry about a thing! It's going to be fun!" Botan interrupted again. "And besides, you won't be going alone, I'll be going with you. A double-date! It'll be like a big group of friends just having fun together!" she smiled.

_'Score one for Jin, not only did he set up the dates, he got Botan to save us both some work on asking. Maybe he's better at this than he used to be...'_

"Um, Botan, this 'double date,' does that mean you're going to have a date also?" Yukina asked innocently. This girl really had been sheltered, Touya was thinking. Botan blushed, but hesitated on answering. Touya decided to help her along...

"Yes, that is the point of a double date. Two couples, both going on their dates together. So who will you be accompanied by, Botan?" _'As if I don't know...'_

_'Jin' _ "Kurama."

"What?" the three boys said, looks of complete shock covering all their faces. Jin, who had been floating, cross-legged, fell flat on his behind when he heard this announcement.

"Oh you don't mind do you, Kurama? Wouldn't want to send Yukina on her very first date all alone now would we?" Botan asked the fox, displaying her most innocent face.

"Well... no. But-"

"Good! It's settled then! Pick us up at 8 boys, we'll leave the arrangements up to you. A girl loves a good surprise!" Botan chirped as she grabbed Yukina by the shoulders, and started leading her back to the temple.

"Where are we going?"

"OH, we have so much to do! We have to fix our hair, and do our nails, and find something to wear! That's the hardest part. We'll be trying on clothes for _hours_ to find just the right outfit."

"This sounds like a lot of hard work..." Yukina had no idea that this "dating" business required so much effort. As Botan explained the importance of the "right outfit", the boys looked on, still not quite sure what had just happened.

"Did you tell her to ask me on a date?" Kurama questioned Touya.

"No. I'm not sure if she _asked_ you anyway. Come to think of it, did I ask Yukina on a date?"

"No, I don't think... Was there any asking at all?"

"Not that I recall..."

"Well, what should we do?" the poor, bewildered, fox inquired.

"What else _can_ we do? Be ready at 8."

"I suppose. We'll meet at the top of the steps leading to the temple at 7:45. I guess we can decide what to do then."

"Deal."

Upon receiving Touya's approval of this plan, the fox turned to walk toward the temple. He guessed that he would just have to leave word with Genkai that Kayko's flowers were ready, and to pick the ones she liked and leave them with her. It was a long trip back to the Minamino house, and he had to get ready for his date _and_ be back in time to figure out exactly what kind of date it was going to be. He had to get going if he wanted to be on time. Women got testy if you showed up late, although he was still wondering exactly how he got roped into this date to begin with...

Touya had walked over to Jin, who was sitting on the ground muttering, or stuttering, something. Touya caught the words "How? What the? But he? But I?"

"I thought _you_ were going to ask her out, not set her up with Kurama." Touya looked at his visibly disturbed friend, who began to shake off the shock.

" That's what I _thought_ I _did_!" Jin pulled himself off the ground and began to rub his aching hind parts.

"Friend, I don't know what you're doing, but evidently, you're doing it wrong."

Jin started mumbling to himself again, ears drooping. "How did this happen? I was _that close_! Hey! Where are you going?" Jin called to Touya, who had begun to walk back toward the temple.

"I've got to get cleaned up for my date," he yelled back.

And then, there was one.

Jin was left trying to comprehend just what had gone wrong, all by himself. He was also thinking of a way to get back at his "friend" for leaving him like this.

How was he going to fix _this_ mess?

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**Whatcha think? Remember, I admit this one isn't the best it could've been so pleeeease take it easy on me. The more reviews, the faster I'll squeeze out time for another chappie. ;-)  
**


	8. The Secret's Out

**Well, time to start wrappn'things up. This is a loooong one but stay with me here. We'll be headin' out on that date next chappie, but for now, here's what's going on around the temple. As always, it starts out slow, but it gets better.**

**Later on: Bold- Kuwa's lines Italic-Jin's lines. (most will be Jin's.)**

**Also, time to see who's been payin' attention to one of my other stories, see if you can figure out what I'm talkin about...**

**I own nothing...

* * *

In Genkai's temple...**

The crew sat around the TV. Shizuru leaned on a large throw pillow, positioned just off to the right of the TV, so as not to obstruct anyone's view. She was propping up her head with her right hand, her elbow resting on the pillow. She fumbled around for her lighter, a cigarette hanging loosely from her lips. Beside her, Kayko lay on her stomach, propping up her head with both hands, elbows placed on either side of a huge notebook filled with guest lists, menus, color swatches and various other wedding related criteria. Her focus kept drifting back and forth from the movie Shizuru had brought to said notebook, even though Shizuru kept nudging her in the ribs with her foot as a sign to relax and "watch the damned movie" as she'd said earlier. Jin and Kuwabara sat on the couch behind the two girls. Kuwabara leaning on the arm of one end, and Jin sitting Indian style on the other. Both of them looked utterly miserable.

Genkai had decided that since the boys had done so well holding their powers down outside, that maybe they could spend just a little bit longer out here. They seemed to show great improvement in their focus. Maybe the depressing surroundings in that cave had been what was holding them back all this time.

The others had all gone in various directions. Rinku had headed straight for Genkai's arcade. Shishi and Suzuka had ran to two of the bathrooms in Genkai's massive compound, talking about showers with the fondness a man who'd been wandering in a desert for 5 years might have for a water tower. Chu had disappeared somewhere, not that they had put much effort into finding him, assuming he was curled up with the nearest bottle of liquor, provided Shizuru had left one to be found within ten miles.

Where was Touya? On a date with the object of Kuwabara's affection.

That last little bit of information had been kept a secret from Kuwabara. Everyone had settled on just telling him that the two ice apparitions had been curious about the Human World, and that Kurama and Botan, both being a little more experienced with life here, had offered to show them around town. Shizuru didn't exactly like the idea of lying to her baby bro, but if she'd said the words "Yukina" and "date" in the same sentence as another guy's name, she knew there'd be hell to pay, for Kuwabara that is, considering who this other guy was. Baby bro could certainly fight like a whole different person when his girl was on the line, but he'd slacked off of his training since she'd pushed him to worry about his education first, and the Master of Ice, formerly one the most feared mercenaries in all three worlds, now just plain one of the most feared fighters on either side of reality, most certainly_ had not_.

Kuwabara had whined that he could show Yukina around town, but Shizuru and Kayko had told him that they needed him here to help them carry some of those heavy boxes full of wedding supplies. When asked why one of the others couldn't do it, they had told him that everyone else had done enough wedding work already. Thank Yama, he hadn't noticed that the heaviest box weighed less than 15 lbs.

"Why can't we watch somethin' else?" Jin whined.

"Because I said so," Shizuru stated, bluntly, stealing another glance at Kayko.

"This is depressin', that's sayin' somethin from a guy like me!" he continued to complain. This gained a sigh from Kuwabara, indicating he shared the demon's opinion.

"I said we're watching this one and that's final. If you don't like it, you can always go back to the cave..."

"_Fine! _I'll watch the bloody miserable thing!" he snapped, crossing his arms. He was _not_ happy with this, but watching this was better than watching water run down the side of a cave.

"He's right, Shizuru. This _is_ kind of a downer." Kayko had finally came to Jin's aid. There was no chance of either he, or Kuwabara, getting control of the VCR. The boys had acknowledged that they had no influence around here, whatsoever, after one of the girls had _spoken_, but Kayko was a female. She might just stand a chance...

Shizuru stood firm. "We're watching this movie." _'Not the Alpha Female. Dammitall...'_ Jin thought.

"What's with you guys anyway? It's _supposed_ to be a _comedy._ How are you guys getting depressed watching an Adam Sandler movie?" Shizuru asked, looking at the other three like they were ready for help that she was not qualified to provide. Her question set off a chorus of sighs.

"Shizuru, I've had enough wedding woes recently. A broken engagement is _not_ what I need to be seeing right now." Kayko's voice held a trace of fear, as if she thought watching this movie might jinx her further. Shizuru fought a smile as she thought that this kid had no worries. Her luck couldn't possibly get any worse.

"A broken engagement is the least of your worries. There's no one else out there who could put up with Yusuke until death do they part, and he knows it." She assured the bride-to-be.

Mild snickers, signaling agreement, arose from the couch. This was the first sign of happiness either of those two had shown all night. Shizuru couldn't take this anymore.

"You all look like you've lost your best friend. How about I go get us some snacks?"

Two yeahs sounded from the couch. "Something to drink, also?"

Kayko's head jerked up. " Uhh, no, that's OK, Shizuru, I think I'll pass," she said, remembering the _marching band_ between her ears when she'd woke up this morning.

"Alright. You guys?"

"I'll take some apple juice," Kuwa answered. _'Perfect. There's one down.'_

"Aye, an' I'll be havin' some coffee." _'Make that two._'

She _would_ be able to mask the taste of her "special ingredient" in the boys' drinks. Coffee and apple juice were both easy targets. She'd had enough moping this week to last her a lifetime, and that was _before_ she'd caught her boyfriend of 4 months cheating with the waitress at the pizza parlor. If anyone was going to be miserable around here, it was her! These two were going to snap out of it, _NOW_!

In the kitchen, she found her bottle of Everclear, still unopened. Surprising, considering there was a Suiken master in the room.Chu had passed out still sitting up in his chair. She noted some sort of telephone in one hand. _'Now who the hell would _he_ be calling?'_ She thought it better not to ask, not that he could have answered anyway.

"Here you go, boys," she said, returning to the living room. As soon as Jin had his coffee in hand, he produced a small, silver flask from the pocket of his gi. The front of said flask, was ornamented with some form of Celtic design. This wasn't the kind you bought for five bucks at the local liquor store. He'd had this baby around for a while...

"What are you doing, man?" Kuwa had a somewhat distressed look on his face at the sight of Jin pouring whatever kind of whiskey this was into his coffee.

"Never heard of an 'Irish coffee'?" Jin grinned. "Just givin' mine a lil' kick," he added. If he'd only known just how much "kick" was already there...

_'This should be good...,_ Shizuru concealed a smile as she sat back down to finish watching _The Wedding Singer._

**Two hours later...**

Kayko and Shizuru were minding their own business in front of the TV when...

"I can't believe the nerve of some people! Humph!" The two girls watched as a blond demon stormed past them and into the kitchen.

"It's not like you were doing all that great!" They turned to see Rinku standing in the door that Suzuka had just flung open, followed closely by Shishi, who, in his imp form, was flapping hard to catch up.

"If nothing else, they saved you from embarrassment. Make that, _more_ embarrassment," the miniature samurai teased.

"What?"

"Your singing was making me begin to wish I had a chalkboard to grind my talons on, to either drown out the sound, or deafen myself. I would have welcomed both methods of relief," the bird-like demon continued. Rinku, now in the kitchen, snickered at this remark, as he continued to try to wake Chu. He was saying something about having to see this.

"I have a beautiful voice. No. Not just _beautiful_! It's better described as _ethereal_!"

"Well aren't you the humble one?" Shizuru's dry wit cut the fight short. "Where is my brother? I thought he and Jin were going out to the arcade with you two," she said, looking from Shishi to Suzuka, the latter of which was now placing a cloth filled with ice cubes on his head.

"They did. Blondie's singing inspired them to revolt," the imp answered from his new perch on the back of a kitchen chair. A quick fluttering of his tiny wings lifted him into the air, letting him narrowly avoid the empty ice tray Suzuka swung at him.

"We'd better check this out," Shizuru said to Kayko. Rinku had finally managed to rouse Chu. The two girls followed the demons back to the arcade. When they arrived, the sight made all the spectators stop in their tracks. A few to laugh, a few to gape, and for one big sister, to plan a funeral...

"I told you this was gonna be good!" Rinku laughed from Chu's shoulder.

"Probably not as good as their performance earlier," Shishi added from his spot on Chu's other shoulder. This earned a glare from Suzuka, still holding the ice pack to his head. Shishi didn't like this perch on Chu. The smell of booze mixed with cheap cologne was nearly overpowering, but, he figured he was much safer here than his usual spot on Suzuka.

"Mates, wot'd I miss?"

"Not much as far his performance goes," Shishi sneered at Suzuka. "But the finale was wonderful!"

"Suzuka was singing on the karaoke machine," Rinku began to explain. "We tried to tell him to shut up, but he wouldn't listen. Jin and Kuwabara tried booing him off stage, but that didn't work either, so they just _threw_ him off stage!"

_'What have I done?'_ Shizuru wondered.

When they had entered the boys had been standing on the small platform that served as a karaoke stage, Jin just holding a microphone as Kuwabara tried to sing some western song the group was unfamiliar with. Apparently, they weren't the only ones, since he was squinting at the screen and trying to mumble random words as they rolled across it. Jin, seeming to be in much better shape than Kuwabara, was finding all this very amusing.

"Alright lad," Jin sputtered out at the song's end, "let's find one we _know._" With this, the now pointy eared demon began flipping through a large list of songs. "Here's a good one, I say!" Jin said, expression changing a little. "Surely you'll be knowin' this one!"

A rather familiar tune started out of the machine. Shizuru knew this song, she'd heard it recently. Where had she heard this before?

Both boys, microphones in hand, got to the middle of the stage. There was no need to look at the words this time. They both knew this one well. A scorned ninja started the song:

_You love 'er, but she loves that FOX! And he loves somebody else, ye jus' can't win._

_And so it goes, till the day ye die, this thing they call love, it's gonna make ye cry.  
I've had the blues, the reds and the pinks, one thing for sure_

_(**Love stinks**)  
Love stinks yeah yeah  
(**Love stinks**)  
Love stinks yeah yeah  
(**Love stinks**)  
Love stinks yeah yeah   
(L**ove stinks**)  
Love stinks yeah yeah_

_Two by two and side by side, love's gonna find ye yes it is, ye just can't hide  
Ye'll hear it call, yer heart will fall  
Then love will fly..._

Jin trailed off, much to the relief of his friends' aching ribs, and Shizuru's burning cheeks. He flopped down Indian-style on the stage and began to think about something. Shizuru finally found the cord to the machine and yanked it from the socket, ending the music.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you jackass?" Shizuru grabbed her brother and proceeded to beat him into what the others thought would be a coma.

"Mighty sheila there!"

"Yeah, no wonder the oaf can't fight. He's probably never got a chance to hit her back!" Rinku said.

After Shizuru's assault had ended, with Kayko's reminder that _she_ had been the one to spike his drink, the crew's attention returned to Jin, still sitting in the same spot, ears now drooping.

"What's wrong with you, man?" a slightly injured Kuwabara asked, sitting, or falling, down beside him.

"Fly... We flew..."

"Huh? What are talking about?_  
_

"Botan. Thought I had the lass... Then... THAT FOX!"

"You're not making a darn bit of sense here."

"I was tryin' to ask her out... but... double date..."

"Double date?"

_'Uh-oh...'_ Shizuru knew this was going to be bad.

"Yeah. She went askin' the fox to take 'er instead o' me!" Jin pouted. Again, Shizuru found herself asking what she had done...

"Waitaminute! Double _date_! That ice guy's on a date with _my_ Yukina? Hold on my Beloved! I won't let that vertically-challenged ninja take advantage of you!" Kuwabara seemed to sober up instantly as his spirit energy shot through the roof. He sprang to his feet and shot for the door.

_'Oh no.'_ Shizuru had to do something quick. As Kuwa ran past her, she stuck out her foot. Mission accomplished. He tripped and his head hit the side of the Jankin game machine on the way down. He wouldn't be permanently injured, but that ought to keep him from getting himself _killed_ for the time being...

In all the excitement, no one noticed the two tiny balls of fur, one blue, one red, entering the room through a small mouse hole...

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**Like I said, this one was long, but I'm about to get to the end so I figured I might as well have some fun with this one while it's still going. Already started writing the next fic that will pick up where this one leaves off, but I'm not going to post it till this one's over. Hope you guys'll like it as much as you like this one. It'll be longer, and hopefully alot more exciting.**

** Next chapter: While all this was going on, what's been happening on that date?**

** Review time! And don't get too mad over the suspense about that date LOL**


	9. What do we do?

**Two updates in one night! And I'm still writing! LOL **

**Warning: I'm hyped up on Mountain Dew AMP at the moment and I'm in a mood for drawing thngs out. I'm feeling extremely creative tonight, and since I don't like to waste moods like this, the story is going to get A LOT longer. I could prolly crank out a novel tonight if it wasn't hurting my eyes so much to stare at the screen. I may not be able to give you a novel, but I promise that as soon as I get through posting this one I'm heading straght back to OpenOffice to start the next chapter.**

**One more thing, PLEASE REVIEW! hehe, That's my reason for writing, to see that others enjoyed the ideas that came out of my YYH obsessed mind. **

**I own nothing. Enjoy!**

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The redhead ran up the steps. He could get there on time if he hurried. He glanced at his watch. It read 7:46. 

"You're late," came a voice from behind him. He whirled around to see Touya, leaning against a tree, arms folded. The expression on his face hinted boredom.

"My mother asked me to ship a package for her on my-" The look of boredom had changed into a slight smile. Touya had only been teasing.

Touya's clothes caught Kurama's attention. He wasn't dressed in his usual attire, nor did he sport the training clothes he often wore. He was dressed in blue jeans, not tight like the ones Yusuke wore, but not quite that baggy either. Above the jeans there was a blue and white checkered shirt, what was becoming a trend among the human boys. It hung unbuttoned, revealing a plain white undershirt. On his feet, a pair of sneakers. If not for the hair and eyes, Kurama would have sworn that he looked like a human teenager.

Seeming to see the questions in Kurama's eyes, Touya said "Suzuka. He has a large trunk filled with various clothing he's used for his disguises. I found some that fit." He left out one part of this story. Though the waist of the jeans had fit perfect, the legs were a little long. Suzuka had vowed to kill him in his sleep if he ever told anyone who had hemmed them. They teased him enough without knowing that he had a sewing kit stashed in the bottom of the aforementioned trunk.

Kurama nodded. This answered most of his questions, save for the one about how Touya had ended up behind him completely undetected. His eyes had only left that tree for a second! The next tournament was going to be interesting...

He pushed this from his mind. "Any thoughts about where we should go?"

"I was hoping you had an idea. You've spent far more time down there than I have.," he said, referring to the city they were planning to go to.

"The activities here are not in high contrast to those of the more civilized cities in Demon World."

"All the same, I'm leaving you with the decision. I don't know what the women here like to do. All I have learned is that when they say they want to go the mall, they mean a grouping of stores located in one building, as opposed to the women back home, who want to go to a _maul_," he stopped, looking at Kurama who obviously knew where he was going with this.

"Well, we have few options that won't lead to our misery. The typical date would consist of dining, followed by another activity. Dancing?"

"No way."

"Miniature golf?"

"What is golf? And why would we need a miniature version?" The ninja eyed Kurama, waiting to see if that was some sort of comment about the height of the two ice apparitions.

"It's a sport. The point of-" He decided it better to not bother trying to explain a game such as golf to a man who had spent the majority of his life as a paid assassin in a world filled with demons. "Never mind. What about billiards? There's a pool hall in town. That's a game you're familiar with, is it not?" Kurama remembered that in demon world, there were pool halls in every town. Unknown to the humans, the demons had actually invented the game centuries ago. A human had only taken credit after being taught by one.

"I would enjoy that, but it isn't likely that those particular two girls would share our enthusiasm."

"Well...," Kurama was stumped.

"Surely you've gone on dates before. What did you do on the others?"

Kurama did not want to admit it, but he hadn't gone on dates before, not since he had become Shuichi Minamino. The closest thing he'd had to a girlfriend in_ this_ lifetime had been Maya Kitajima, and that had lasted all of 6 hours, if he was lucky, and four of that had been while he was sitting at his bedside waiting for a wounded Hiei to recover. They'd never gone on a date...

"Well?" the ninja pressed.

"Well, there is the classic dinner and a movie combination."

"Perfect. Unless the humans know something we don't, the theater will be dark. I may not stand out quite as much as usual, but I would still prefer to be seen by as few humans as possible."

"Then it's settled."

"Then we should be going. It's 7:58." Touya had no watch on his wrist so Kurama assumed he had been judging by the sun's position in the sky. He had to be skilled if he could tell the exact minute without even having to look up. An interesting tournament indeed...

The two made their way to the temple. On the way, Kurama noticed Touya fidgeting with something. Touya had pulled back his shirt and a baseball cap could be seen hanging from his belt loop. Touya was removing the hat. He then snapped the adjustable part of the band back and placed the cap on his head... backwards.

"If they do notice me, they'll think I'm just a delinquent with dyed hair," he said, once again answering the question before it was asked. Kurama also noted how Touya had pulled the bill of the cap down in the back, trying to hide as much of his hair as he could.

"I see you've thought this out."

"Of course." With this answer the ninja flashed another small grin. Kurama was once again reminded of why he enjoyed talking to Touya. Though he had acquired many friends in this world, he found Touya the closest to a kindred.

The boys reached the door at 8 PM on the nose. They braced themselves for anything, including a raving Kuwabara if anyone had let the cat out of the bag, and knocked on the door...

TBC...

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**Hope you liked this little preface to the real date. This should save me some explaining later on about how Touya is fitting into the humans' environment so easily. (Besides that, it was an excuse to write about my two favorite "wise" guys. **

** Next chapie: The Date! Finally!**

** Please review :-)**


	10. My Hero!

**Sorry this has been taking so long. Anyway, before anyone gets offended, all the pop comments are only jokes, don't take it too harsh. I have every one of these songs on my MusicMatch and in my CD case so you know I don't mean it. LOL**

**One more thing, I know the chapters are getting shorter, that's so I can update faster. This way, you get something to read now, instead of waiting for my schedule to calm down. I'll update again ASAP.**

**Own nothing. Enjoy!**

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The wooden door swung inward. The sight beheld by the demons made two sets of eyes widen. 

Botan had answered the door, but not the Botan these boys were used to seeing. Her hair was in a long, french-braid, the end of which lay across her shoulders. A few curls had slipped loose, and now framed her face. They noticed she was wearing some kind of pale pink lip gloss and the smell of sweet perfume drifted out to them. Her clothes were of the same pink as her favorite kimono, but their style was definitely different. She wore a pink skirt, one that Kurama found amazingly short, for Botan at least, and a slightly lighter pink shirt.

"Hello boys. Your timing is perfect!"

She ushered the two boys inside and motioned for them to sit. "Yukina is almost ready, I'll be right back," she said, as she started down a small hallway.

"I knew it was too good to be true," Touya said.

"What is that?"

"Two women, both being ready for a date on time. They enjoy making us wait."

"Fashionably late," Kurama smiled, gaining a smile from Touya also.

A door was heard sliding open in the hall, followed by some unknown words that sounded as if they might be coming from a whispering Botan. Footsteps began to sound. The girls must have been ready. Touya saw Botan come back out of the hall followed by "Yukina?"

The ice maiden standing before them was not the same as the one they'd seen earlier that day. She was wearing a blue jumper, the bottom of which was a skirt that came to about mid-thigh, Botan's doing the boys guessed. Underneath, she wore a plain, white, button-up, blouse. Her hair, which she had been keeping pulled in a braid as of late, hung loose. The girl still looked like the picture of perfect innocence, but she also looked older. She no longer looked like a half-grown child. To Touya, she looked like a woman.

Kurama produced a red rose from his hair. Unlike the usual ones he carried, this particular rose was without thorn, apparently brought for this purpose alone. He handed it to Botan. "For you."

"Oh Kurama, a gentleman as always! It's just lovely!" Botan inhaled the rose's sweet scent, then placed it in a vase with the flowers he'd given her earlier that day.

Seeing this, Touya took his cue. A small swirl of energy surrounded his hand. A second later, a sparkling rose made of solid ice appeared in it's place. "For you."

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Yukina gasped. Her cheeks started to redden as she accepted it.

"And you'll never have to worry about water, this one will never wilt...or thaw."

Kurama gave Touya a look that might have said "well done." Touya was not willing to be outdone tonight.

The boys led Botan and Yukina to the foot of the steps, where Kurama had parked his car. He was driving a silver Toyota. It was only a couple years old, 4 door, but it still had a sporty look. Not bad for a first car. They got in and started toward town, Botan riding shotgun, Touya and Yukina in the back.

Botan flipped through radio stations, frowning and saying that there was nothing good on. Most of the stations were in the middle of talk shows or news. She dug through her over-sized purse and pulled out a CD case. "This should work!"

She instered a CD and within seconds, Kurama and Touya were wondering just how far it was back to town. A boy band was blaring in their ears. Botan sensed the displeasure in the boys.

"What's wrong? Everyone loves 'N Sync!"

"Oh, it's nothing Botan. I'm just concentrating on the road. You never know when you might encounter a hazardous situation." Kurama had his excuse, Touya had to think of his...

"Oh, I'm just taking in the scenery. I haven't been able to tour the Human World out in the open before." He hoped that would work...

"Oh, in that case...,"she said as she leaned forward, turning up the song even louder.

Touya wondered why this band had chosen the name "In Sink." Why would a band name itself after the place you put your dirty dishes? He still could not understand these humans. The more he listened, the more he thought of another kitchen item they should have taken into consideration: Trash Compacter...

After a long and miserable car ride, the crew arrived at the restaurant Botan had suggested between songs. It wasn't a fancy place, just a small diner that served hot dogs, hamburgers, fries and the like. Botan and Kurama had each ordered small meals, while Touya and Yukina had been more drawn to the dessert side of the menu. Touya had ordered a sandwich and a milkshake, Yukina had only a banana split. It seemed neither of these two had a taste for anything too hot.

Someone inserted a coin in the jukebox on the other side of the room. The song that came on was almost as annoying as the ones they'd been listening to in the car.

"Oh! Britney Spears! I love this song!" Botan squealed. Kurama and Touya were just ready to squeal. They thought they'd left the world of bubble-gum pop in the car...

Seeing the discomfort on Touya's face, the fox asked him to accompany him to the jukebox. These two had had enough mouseketeer music for one night.

The two eyed the selection. There weren't many songs to choose from, mostly more of the same music they were trying to escape. They almost pushed a Nickelback song entitled "Figured You Out," but thought better of it. They'd not only hear Botan's comments on the song, they'd probably scare the wits right out of a certain ice maiden. They settled on Gavin Degraw's I Don't Wanna Be, agreeing that it was better than what they had been hearing. As the song played, a dressed-up Touya couldn't help but laugh.

A group of boys, who had been laughing rather loudly and harassing a waitress, walked over to the table where the gang sat.

"Hey, ladies. Why don't ya ditch the pretty boys and come have some fun with some real men?"

Touya and Kurama narrowed their eyes, giving two of those death-stares that only demons were capable of giving.

"Uh..O- o- on second thought, looks like you guys got it covered!" The punks took off. As they reached the door, they were heard saying something about the eyes on those two, and that small one, they just didn't look natural. Kurama and Touya exchanged the "well-done" look, both smiling.

"My hero!" Botan laughed, playfully giving Kurama's arm a light squeeze.

"You two certainly know how to make a girl feel safe," Yukina giggled. This forced Touya's smile to broaden even further.

They chatted for a little longer as they finished their dinners, then, on to the theater...

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**Review time folks! If you haven't noticed, the more reviews, the faster I write. I've stayed up till 4 and 5 AM to write on this because it was getting good reviews lol, let's keep 'em coming!**


	11. The Devil's Rejects?

**This is a short chappie, not the best I could have done, but just to let you know that I didn't die LOL I'm getting back to my stories now that all the Holiday drama is over and my computer is fixed. I'm trying to finish _Kurama's Holiday Horrors_, and I'm working on a lot of updates for my other stories, so, hopefully, I'll start updating them pretty regular again. Thanks for being patient with me folks! And thanks for all the great reviews! Hope this chappie gets a couple just so I know if you're still with me...**

** I own nothing. Enjoy!**

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The crew arrived at the theater. It was their third choice, but, it would have to do. They had planned on going to the large cinema a few blocks from where they had eaten, but found that it was closed while they replaced some of their old equipment with newer gadgets. After that, they had tried a smaller one, not far from Kurama's school, but found it too crowded with the rest of the people that had found that same "Sorry, We're Closed" sign hanging on the door of the first one. They had settled on coming to this one, a tiny theater nestled between two large clothing stores in the mall. Not many people came here, Kurama had informed, because they didn't show the new movies, just whatever struck their fancy, basically. 

The boys prayed it wasn't a chick-flick...

When they arrived, they saw a poster for "**_The Devil's Rejects_**." This brought a wave of relief to both of them. Even Touya wanted to see this one! He didn't know much about human films, but Shishi and Suzuka had become quite fond of a little something called LimeWire, and equally as fond of eBay. They had started watching human movies and listening to human music, so Touya was getting to know more about them as well. He'd seen "**_House of 1000 Corpses_**" and he loved Rob Zombie! He couldn't wait to see this one!

Botan and Yukina scampered off to the ticket window. As soon as they were out of ear-shot, the boys began talking.

"Thank God," Touya sighed. "I was afraid we were going to be stuck watching **_Steel Magnolias_** or something of the like."

"I feared something with Brad Pitt or Orlando Bloom," Kurama glanced over to the ticket booth and saw a stack of old movie posters behind the clerk. Right on top of the stack, was the poster for **_Troy_**. "Or worse still... _Both_..."

Touya cringed at the thought. There were few things in life that bothered a man worse than taking a girl on a date, buying her dinner, paying her admission to the movies, getting her whatever she wanted at the concession counter, and then watching her drool over some Hollywood pretty boy the whole time...

The girls came back and handed the boys their tickets, and Botan returned Kurama's change. For what reason, Touya had no clue. As soon as they got to the counter, he'd be shelling out that and then some. 5 bucks for a soda? Touya wondered how it must feel for the legendary bandit to be on the receiving end of a rip-off...

_'And I thought demons were greedy. The last time I paid five dollars for a drink, it packed enough punch to give Chu a three-day hangover...'_ And people here found these prices reasonable. He would never understand these creatures...

Apparently, Yukina felt the same way about these prices. Botan had picked out her drink and a nice selection of candy, but Yukina had taken one look at the sign overhead that told the prices and suddenly, her face had dropped. She insisted that Touya didn't have to get her anything.

"Really, I'm fine. I'm still full from dinner." She really didn't want him to go to all that trouble on her account. She just couldn't ask him to spend all that money on her... Even if he said he didn't mind...

"Alright then." Touya walked up to the counter. When he returned a few minutes later, he was carrying two of everything he'd got. Two sodas, two boxes of Sno-Caps, two bags of skittles... "It might be a long movie," he said, handing her one of the sodas. "Just in case you change your mind." Her face lit up. He was so sweet!

**Awwwwwwwwwww...**

"Now are you sure you going to be ok with this movie? It's probably going to be a little scary," Touya said to her as they made their way to their seats.

"Yes, I saw the first one," Kurama said, backing up Touya in his attempts to warn Yukina. "It isn't likely that the sequel is going to be any less gruesome." He _hoped_ she would be alright. It _was_ just a movie after all. He knew that if Yukina had a nightmare, Kuwabara would be going ninja-hunting...

"What are you talking about?" Botan thought for a minute. "Oh! You thought we were going to see **_The Devil's Rejects_** didn't you?" she laughed.

"Aren't we?" Kurama asked. That was what was on the poster.

"Oh no! We'd never watch something like _that_! They changed the movie this afternoon, they just hadn't changed the poster yet."

"Then what _are_ we going to see?" Touya asked, images of pretty boys running through his head and making him worry. Kurama was none-too-comforted by this news himself...

"The- Oh, never mind. It's starting. You'll see."

The screen began to show previews for the coming attractions. The boys began to dread what might be coming next. What had they gotten into?

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**Next chappie: Pray for the boys... They're going beyond Chick-Flick! And no. It's not going to be _Troy_ if anyone was thinking that LOL Till then, let me know you're still reading! **


	12. Polka Dots?

**Hey, guys! I'm back with the much anticipated movie! And who should I pick? Pick on is more like it. Howz-about some cheap shots at the evil people that keep changing the YYH schedule, or taking the uncuts off Adult Swim and forcing us to watch the hacked down versions, or starting the series over when it gets to the good part, and then there was replacing it with Zatch Bell... I think my point is heard... Here it is!**

**I own nothing. Enjoy!**_

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'Oh no...,'_ Kurama thought.

The narrator's first words told him what this movie was. They _confirmed_ it, at least. The "**Cartoon Network**" logo on the screen before the picture started had already told him, but he was praying he was wrong. Now, the narrator had taken his hope and crushed it, with a few simple words...

_**The city of Townsville...**_

Since his mother's marriage, he had acquired 4 new step-cousins, the youngest 3 of which, were girls. When they had visited, he had been forced to watch this show every waking minute. It was cute the first million times, but after a while, the giggling and other girlish things this show forced his cousins to do, had him silently begging the Lord to send a wave of demons to attack the city, just so he could get away! Now, he was trapped, with a giggling Botan, who may well have been 5 times as "bubbly" as his baby cousins.

_'Help. Me.'_

Although he couldn't hear him, he knew that somewhere deep down, Yoko was either cursing, or laughing at him. The greatest thief Makai had ever known, watching **_The Powerpuff Girls Movie_**...

_'If Yomi could see me now...'_

While Kurama was wondering how a legendary bandit could come to this, Touya was wondering about a few things, himself. As soon as the logo had popped up, he had been thinking _'Cartoon Network? Oh, _how_ original... Don't these humans even _try_ to come up with good names? That would be like Pepsi just naming it's company Soda Distributor...'_

As he watched, he was perplexed even further. There was a pink, fur-covered creature, with two antennas, holding up a cashier with a shotgun. He thought that they didn't know about such creatures... then, there was a group of green-skinned boys in the parking lot causing trouble. Common back home, but, how did the humans know about such occurrences?

**A few minutes later...**

_'Sugar, spice, and everything nice? These people have no originality! And this is what they teach human children? And Chemical X? Whatever happened to names like Kryptonite?'_ Touya was thoroughly confused. Did they really expect people to believe that that's what little girls were made of? Obviously these people had never sat through a week of demonic PMS... He shuddered as he thought back to that time he and Jin had been trapped with Ruka after that cave in...

After seeing how girly this movie was really going to be, let alone the fact that it was a cartoon movie, the two boys began growing embarrassed. Just sitting here was degrading, really. They exchanged sympathetic looks, and their eyes made the silent pact "I won't tell if you won't..." Thank God none of their friends knew where they were...

Just then, a group of girls walked in, and began looking for seats. "Oh, we're not that late. It's just starting." "Let's sit here." "Hey, does that guy look familiar?" "Oh yeah! That's Suichi! From second period Science! Hi Suichi!" The first girl waved to Kurama, and sat down between her other two friends, who immediately leaned in to converse. "He's watching the Powerpuff Girls?" "I knew there was something strange about him..." "Wait till we tell the girls about this..."

The girls didn't realize that Kurama and Touya's ears could detect every murmur. Touya fought a laugh. Kurama glared at him. Touya responded to the glare with an innocent "_I_ didn't do it" smile. Touya turned back to the screen, still fighting the laughter, and smiling from ear to ear. _'Well, at least _one_ of us gets to hang on to some dignity...'_

**Back at Genkai's...**

Jin thought he was sober. Whiskey couldn't keep an Irishman down for long... or could it?

_'What? Are me eyes broken? Or did I just see two polka-dots runnin' past me?' _

As strange a question as this might have been, Jin could have sworn he had just seen a blue dot, followed by a red dot, running across the floor. No one else seemed to notice. They were still trying to move Kuwabara out of the floor. Well, two of them were. Kayko was trying to preserve the peace between Suzuka and the team of Shishi and Rinku, who were still taking cheap shots at Suzuka's singing voice.

_'Now how do ye ask someone if they've ever seen a polka-dot runnin' before? Ye _don't_, stupid!'_ he answered himself. _'But I know I spotted it with me own eyes! But I don' wanna be the one to say it _first_! Hmmmm... I know!'_ "Hey Biggie, pull up some ground," he said, motioning for Chu to sit down beside him on the karaoke stage.

As Chu sat, Jin saw it again! Two little polka-dots running across the floor. They seemed to be heading back-and-forth on the same path. He looked around.

_'Be needin' somethin' close... Aha!'_ "Ever notice Rinku's shoes?" he asked his still partially-buzzed and easily-amused friend.

"Yeah... What about 'em, mate?"

"Well... Have ye noticed how fast he kicks 'em off for that serpent yo-yo kick?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Wellll... Howzee do it? They're laced up _tight_, they are!" Jin tried to make this debate sound interesting. He just _had_ to keep him looking in that direction.

"Hmmm, ya'know, now that ya mention it..." Chu rubbed his chin, a sign that he was in deep thought. He continued to stare at the boy's shoes while he did so. And then...

"Whoa! D-d-d-d-" Chu stuttered as he pointed past Rinku's shoes.

"What's with him?" Shizuru asked. Seeing all the commotion, she stood up from her crouched position beside Kuwabara. He was still breathing. Good enough. He'd wake up eventually...

Jin translated Chu's stuttering with "Biggie says he just saw two lil' polkie-dots runnin' right past lil'n."

Chu stopped his display and looked, wide-eyed, at Jin. "Mate, yer good at this! _I_ didn't even know what I was sayin'..."

Jin blushed. "It's a talent...," he said, trying to keep a straight face.

Everyone turned their attention to Chu. Expressions of "what the?" covering their faces.

"I think it's time we set some rules about drinking," an exasperated Suzuka said.

"Yes, I agree," Shishi said, pausing to change into his larger form before finishing. "We should make it _mandatory_ if you're going to take the stage."

"AAAALRIGHT!" Chu hopped to his feet for a small celebration, but was cut short when Jin floated up beside him to say "He didn't mean it, pal." He groaned as he sat back down, putting his elbow on his knee, then allowing his chin to plop down into his upstretched palm.

Rinku, meanwhile, was thinking _'Well, at least he didn't throw up this time... Or dance... Or do his koala impression... Just seeing things... I hope he doesn't see Pinky again...'_ The boy shuddered as he thought about all the times Chu had tackled him, saying that he had saved him from being sat on by that damned elephant... Polka dots were a new one on him, though...

Kayko was thinking that all they needed now was her soon-to-be mother-in-law...

"This is the last time I drink with demons... or relatives," Shizuru said, giving her brother a light kick with that last part. She turned her back to Chu and Jin, putting a cigarette in her mouth. She pulled out her lighter, but just as she got ready to light it, her cigarette hit the floor. _'Did I just see what I thought I saw?'_

Shishi and Rinku looked at Shizuru. She was still holding the button on her lighter, making flames rise, but her cigarette was on the floor, and her mouth was slightly agape.

"Huh?" the two said, and followed her line of vision to the wall. "What the?" Rinku said. Shishi just stood, dumbfounded. _'I knew hanging out with this group was going to get to me, sooner or later! Now, I'm seeing figments of _**their**_ imaginations!'_

Kayko and Suzuka exchanged blank looks. Apparently, they were the only sane ones left...

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**Sorry to cut this one short, folks, but everyone I know has decided to stop by and visit today. Every time I get started writing, the doorbell goes off. You'll just have to wait a day or two to find out what's gonna happen. Anyway, pleasepleaseplease review till then!**


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